Kate O'Brien

Kate joined First Ascent Ventures in June 2022 as Vice President, Finance.
Prior to joining First Ascent, Kate was Vice President, Global Financial and Regulatory Reporting Lead for Cayman Funds at State Street.
Kate is a strategic and innovative leader with over 17 years of progressive international experience.
Kate began her finance career in Ireland with IFS, a State Street company.
Growing up in operations, Kate developed a strong understanding of the full-service accounting model including portfolio pricing, expenses, profit and loss allocations, investor statements and annual/semi-annual financial statements.
In recognition of her early career impact at IFS and State Street, Kate was featured in the 2010/2011 ACCA Ireland Graduate Guide which was published in Ireland’s Business Plus Magazine.
In 2011 Kate was selected for an international opportunity within State Street and transferred to the Toronto office.
Kate’s finance experience spans multiple divisions of State Street Canada where she specialized in the audit of complex financial statements of hedge, fund of fund, and private equity reporting under US GAAP and IFRS.
Kate held responsibility for financial reporting operations in Toronto including management of multiple key strategic client production cycles.
Kate successfully led projects including system reporting enhancements, financial reporting user interface adoption, internal billing reviews, and legal offshore oversight.
In 2015 Kate was instrumental in State Street gaining recognition as an ACCA Canada approved employer.
During her time with State Street, Kate built and led high-performing teams and was known for cultivating collaboration, innovation and inclusivity.
Kate has a BA in Finance and Economics from the National University of Ireland Maynooth.
She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
In 2013 Kate was appointed Secretary of ACCA in Canada.